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U.S. House Republican debt panel bill a 'gimmick' -Sen. Schumer

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) - A senior U.S. Senate Democraton Tuesday dismissed a proposal by House of RepresentativesRepublicans to set up a panel to negotiate deficit-reductionsteps that Republicans want linked to a debt limit increase.

"They keep coming up with new gimmicks. We've done thesupercommittee before and it failed," Senator Charles Schumer,the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate, told reporters.

Schumer reiterated a "simple plea" to Republicans that theyallow an immediate reopening of the entire U.S. government,which is in the eighth day of partial shut down, and a U.S. debtceiling increase. "And then we'll discuss anything they(Republicans) want in a forum in which they want to discuss it,"Schumer said.